Blueberry Pie & How To Make A Lattice Top

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Blueberry Pie with Lattice Crust

Pie Crust Dough
2 cups all purpose flour
Pinch of kosher salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon sugar
1 egg yolk
3 tablespoons ice water

1. Sift flour and salt into a bowl. Cut in butter with pastry cutter or two knives until mixture resembles bread crumbs. Stir in sugar.

2. Mix egg yolk and water together in a small bowl. Add to butter/four mixture, mix until homogenous and grains of flour mixture have disappeared. Form into a ball with your hands in the bowl.

3. Divide dough in half. Shape one piece into a disk ¾-inch thick and the other into a 4×6-inch rectangle. Wrap each tightly in plastic wrap and rest in the refrigerator until firm, 30 minutes to 2 hours, and up to 2 days. (Or freeze for up to one month.).

Shape the Lattice

1. Remove rectangle of dough from refrigerator and let sit until pliable, about 10 minutes. Remove disk of dough and let sit at room temperature while you make the lattice.

2.On lightly floured parchment or pastry cloth, roll dough with floured rolling pin into 9 ½ x 14 ½-inch rectangle, about 1/8th inch thick. Roll from center of dough to edges with as few passes as possible, running an offset spatula or bench knife under dough to be sure it isn’t sticking, giving the dough a quarter turn. Re-flour parchment or cloth and rolling pin only as needed, as excess flour can make crust tough.

3. With fluted pastry wheel or chef’s knife, trim dough into a 9×14-inch rectangle. Using a ruler, mark dough at ¾-inch intervals. With wheel or knife, cut 12 strips of dough that are 14-inches long and ¾-inch wide. If dough becomes too soft to work with, chill on cookie sheet until firm.

4. Line a cookie sheet with parchment. Arrange 6 strips of dough horizontally ¾-inch apart. These will be the bottom strips.

5. Fold back every other bottom strip to the left slightly more than halfway. Slightly left of center, lay down one “top” strip vertically over bottom strips, dabbing bottom strips with a wet finger where top strip overlaps them. Dab the top strip where the folded strips will overlap it, then unfold the strips, pressing down where strips cross.

6. Fold back the other 3 bottom strips to the left. Lay a second top strip ¾ inch to right of the first, dabbing with water as before. These are the two center strips. Unfold the bottom strips. Repeat process on both sides with remaining top strips of dough, sealing with water where strips cross.

7. Press gently where strips overlap to seal. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate on cookie sheet until firm while you roll out bottom crust and make the filling.

8. Position rack in center of oven and set a foil-lined heavy-duty rimmed baking sheet on rack. Heat oven to 425 degrees F.

Roll and Shape Bottom Crust

1. On lightly floured parchment or pastry cloth, roll disk of dough into a 14 ½-inch circle about 1/8-inch thick.

2. Roll the dough around the rolling pin and position over a 9-inch glass pie plate. Unroll onto plate, gently pressing dough against bottom and sides. Allow excess dough to hang over edges. Let sit while making the filling.

Blueberry Filling

2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
Finely grated zest from 1 lemon
2 tablespoons lemon juice
½ teaspoon table salt
6 cups (30 oz.) fresh blueberries, picked over

1. In a large bowl, mix together sugar, flour, lemon zest and juice, and salt.

2. Add 1 cup blueberries and crush them into the dry ingredients with a fork or potato masher to make a paste.

3. Add rest of berries and toss to coat. Scrape filling into crust with rubber spatula and spread evenly.

Assemble and Bake the Pie

1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water (or 2 tablespoons whipping cream)
Coarse sugar

1. Remove lattice from refrigerator. Holding the lattice on your palm and spread fingers of one hand, parchment paper side up, peel parchment paper from bottom and turn lattice over onto pie. Lattice is one solid piece, so push it until it is centered on pie. Allow to sit at room temperature for a few minutes until pliable.

2. Press lattice and bottom edges together and trim both crusts to ¾-inch overhang. Roll the overhang under to form an edge that rests on rim of pie plate.

3. With a small pastry brush, brush egg or cream over lattice and edge. Sprinkle generously with sugar.

4. In preheated 425 degree F oven, put pie on heated baking sheet and reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F. Bake until edges are pale golden, about 30 minutes, then cover edges with foil and continue to bake until lattice is golden-brown and filling is bubbling about 2-inches from the center, 80-90 minutes total. If the lattice is golden-brown before filling is bubbling, cover it loosely with foil.

5. Cool pie on rack to room temperature, about 3 hours, before serving. Can be made 1 day ahead and stored, covered when cool, at room temperature. Refrigerate for up to 5 days.